(12) APhA-ASP discourages the use of coupons or other offers which may encourage patients to transfer prescriptions to another pharmacy and compromise medication dispensing safety.

R2 PRT: Coupons for prescription transfers - Wording/action:
(12) APhA-ASP discourages the use of coupons or other offers which may encourage patients to transfer prescriptions to another pharmacy and compromise medication dispensing safety.

Reasons for the Action(s) / Pros and Cons:
Coupons and other offers which encourage patients to transfer their prescriptions to a particular pharmacy may contradict the goal of improving patient care and drug therapy outcomes. Coupons and offers for transferring a prescription may result in an individual patient utilizing several pharmacies in order to save money. Although it is a patient’s right to choose which pharmacy he or she uses, the quality of care may decrease when a patient has prescriptions at several pharmacies. A pharmacist may not be aware that a patient has medications at another pharmacy and would therefore be unable to recognize a potential drug interaction. Safety is certainly compromised in this situation and the question to bring up is if offering financial benefits is more important than offering safe medication therapies.

Jozef Beckley ; 717-586-4212 ; jozef.beckley@wilkes.edu ; Wilkes University Nesbitt School of Pharmacy